Example of WebCT Discussion Forum

This example shows the threaded outline of the messages/posts within this a sample WebCT course. Some of the key features shown here:

• All responses are listed with a check box next to each, and indicating the name of the person who posted the message and time of posting.
• Messages can each be viewed individually (see next screen shot #2) or can be collected so that all selected messages are displayed in one screen.

This example shows an individual messages/posts within this a sample WebCT course. Some of the key features shown here:

• Only the reply post is shown (so that preceding post cannot be seen at the same time, and nor can user see where in the sequence of the posts this one appears). However, when users reply to previous posts, they can choose to quote the original message so that this can be viewed along with their reply (this was not done in this example, hence only the text of the reply is shown)
• The message number is shown along an indication of the message to which this is a response.
• Users can choose to reply privately, so that their response can be viewed only by the person to whom they are responding.

This example shows how posts that have been collected are displayed in the sample WebCT course. This is very similar to the compiled view in Blackboard. Some of the key features shown here:

• The full text of each of the messages that have been collected is displayed so that all can be read together (rather than having to click on the link to previous or next message as shown in the #2 screen shot above). However, as soon as messages are collected, the threaded outline format is lost, so it is not clear by the way in which messages are displayed which are responding to which. Unlike Blackboard, though, WebCT does make it somewhat easier to follow the thread by indicated in parentheses next to each message the number of the message to which it is replying. (This is in contrast to WebCrossing or Moodle, where the threaded format is maintained and easy to follow).
• Responses to messages can be posted from within this view by clicking on the "Reply" button. However, once a user has replied to a message, the display reverts to the initial threaded outline (#1 above). In order to view the text of multiple posts again, these must be re-collected.
• The messages that have been compiled can be downloaded (by clicking on the download button) as a text file so that they can be read later offline.